Robeson County NcArchives Obituaries.....Odom, Rev. Nash 2011
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Sam West sam.west.1@gmail.com February 26, 2013, 10:37 am

The Robesonian October 3, 2011, pp 1A and 8A
REV. NASH ODOM

LUMBERTON — The Rev. Nash Odom, one of Robeson County’s most prominent 
historians, has died at the age of 78.

Odom, a retired Baptist minister from Lumberton, was a “diligent historian” 
who wrote on numerous subjects, a majority having to do with Robeson County 
history and Robeson County families, said friend and fellow-historian Helen 
Sharpe. His final article about Kate Britt Biggs and her family appeared in 
The Robesonian on Sunday, the day before he died.

“All of his adult life he was a diligent historian, producing reams of 
research on many, many subjects, a large percentage about Robeson history,” 
Sharpe said. “He also did much genealogical work, and area research.”

Odom was the son of the late Bernice M. Odom and Emma W. Johnson Odom. He grew 
up in Lumberton and was educated in the city schools. He went on to graduate 
from Campbell University, Wake Forest University, East Carolina University and 
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

During his years in the ministry, he served churches in North Carolina, 
Virginia and Florida, including West Lumberton Baptist Church, Back Swamp 
Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church of Proctorville. He was director of 
Missions for the Petersburg Baptist Association in Petersburg, Va., when he 
retired.

After his retirement, Odom continued to serve as interim pastor for churches 
in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida.

His love of history drove him to be active in both the Robeson County History 
Museum and the local Historical Society. His research is being shared with 
libraries and the colleges he attended, according to his obituary.

“This is a terrible loss,” said Lumberton businessman Kenny Biggs, who 
recently worked on the article with Odom about his grandmother Kate Biggs. “I 
loved to listen to his stories. He was just a wealth of knowledge about 
Robeson County and its families.

“I was at his home a few weeks ago and he was so excited about getting this 
article done,” Biggs said. “He told me about all of these other projects he 
was working on and said he hoped he had time to get them all finished.”

Vicki Locklear, Robeson County’s register of deeds and a friend of Odom’s for 
more than 40 years, referred to “Uncle Nash” as a “very special person” who 
loved life and was always upbeat.

“He was always bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He loved his flowers and was 
always out in his garden,” Locklear said. “He also loved antiques. He had a 
houseful of beautiful ones.”

Odom is credited with re-establishing the Christmas House Tour that provides 
funding for the county museum. The tour will be held for the fifth consecutive 
year this December, according to Blake Tyner, the executive director and 
curator of the county museum.

“He had been researching and writing about county history since the 1960s,” 
Tyner said. “He was wonderful to work with. He had a general love of county 
history and a proactive approach to preserving that history … He was a 
champion of the museum. Everywhere he went he talked about the museum and the 
need to support it.”

Sharpe knew Odom as a child, and said he knew early on what he wanted to do, 
but had to overcome a speech impediment.

“During his youth he had a speech difficulty, which he worked hard to 
overcome, including putting pebbles in his mouth and speaking,” she said. “He 
wanted to be a minister and to speak on subjects which interested him. With 
help and encouragement from mentors who believed in him, he became an 
excellent speaker.”

Among his survivors are his wife of 51 years, Helen Allen Odom, and three 
children.

A visitation will be held Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Floyd Mortuary & 
Crematory, and other times at the home.

The funeral will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church in 
Lumberton. Burial will follow at Meadowbrook Cemetery in Lumberton.


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